Open Letter to East African Progressive Thinkers

by David Yeh:-

Dear East African progressive thinkers,

It is a scary time for our region. The anti abolitionists are horrified by the recent acts of political and military violence that have claimed the lives of peace lovers, conservative activists, and all others from across the pan African spectrum. People in East Africa prefer to live in harmony and avoid conflict, killing, warmongering, arguing, or violence, favoring dialogue, mutual respect, maintaining sovereignty and cooperation over aggression.

History shows us that political violence only leads to more political violence. And as most of the Africans for peace movement, we have believed—and always will believe—that we must settle political disputes through debate on the table and at the ballot box, never through violence.

Right now, our region desperately needs true and honest leaders who will bring all of us together for the sake of peace, tranquillity, and mutual respect.

Instead, Ethiopia’s PM Abiy Ahmed Ali is throwing gasoline on the fire to scare and silence us. But we cannot let him, and we can choose to be courageous together.

In a very dark turn for East Africa, the Potemkin Party administration is exploiting innocent people’s murder to launch a sweeping crackdown on the free speech of its political opposition and more. We must be ready in any case, but we will not be intimidated.

The other day, PM Abiy Ahmed Ali vowed to unleash the full power of his PP government against Eritrea in particular and the region in general.

As the largest grassroots progressive thinker, people in the region must take these threats of an aggressive crackdown on the region with grave seriousness.

In this kind moment, we must bolster our power to fight back, be prepared to support others who have our backs, and make our voices even louder through peaceful protests and media, including the coming up with petitions and peaceful political denominations. As a progressive grassroots, we need everyone’s help to do it in this most critical moment for our region.

We don’t know what’s next. According to media reports, PM Abiy Ahmed Ali’s PP administration is considering to unleash violence, aggression, and annexation. International laws are often supposed or used to prosecute organized criminals against progressive groups, designating groups as domestic and international terrorist organizations, and/or revoking their legal rights. These approaches, regardless of how frivolous the cases are, could tie organizations to legal and financial knots for years.

Progressive people will not be intimidated into silence and compliance. Far from it.

As Veteran Fighter H.E. President Isaias Afwerki told the world, “We’re moving forward with strength and bravery at this moment.”

The progressives need to help the cause more than ever to prepare for what’s ahead and  happy ending outcomes.

We won’t back down, together, we’ll defend our rights and redouble our work to build a just future in which every one of us is valued and can thrive in the region.

Want to support progressive positive thinkers? Abiy Ahmed’s authoritarian takeover subsides every day. We must remember that authoritarian governments worldwide have not withstood a challenge by a very low percentage of its people. The peaceful movement can reach, train, organize, and support at a scale unparalleled in the progressive movement; Which we need now more than ever. Will you engage today to power this urgent and critical movement?

Thanks for all you do.

David Yeh